Hi any help would be great, Im at my wits end.

Back story - 7 years ago I was finished from my job on health issues, was put on ESA, but then taken off because of their incompetence ( thats another story). Anyhoo , long story short, gained around £10000 in Mortgage arrears and when to court for an order of possession , which was suspended....had a few bumps along the way , but ironed the out with Mortgages PLC, we have so far payed back £5000.

Just 2 months before Christmas last year, missed 2 payments due to lack of funds, car issues etc...Morg PLC sent out an advisor to see what was occurring and set up an new agreement. Was told by the advisor that we would receive confirmation of acceptance of agreement, and to make payment 1/1/17 .

Because of the NY etc, didn't know that agreement was accepted or not, but made the basic mortgage payment. Had a letter yesterday morning stating that we have failed to pay mortgage arrears under the terms of the possession order, so I rang them.

The guy stated that the agreement was not accepted as we have unsecured debt items on the budget (£200 pm) submitted to them. These items where there before, and the offer of £100 over the mortgage payment was the same as before. He said that the only way I could go forwards was to contact a debt service and set up an agreement with them, to not pay the unsecured debt fully and reduce it to £30 a month, then pay the rest to Mortgages PLC.. Sounds fair , but I stated to him that we could save more and pay £200 above the Mortgage payment, but he didn't seem interested to pass this information on over to the collections dept.

Would it be worth ringing again to try to speak to someone else, or do I have to use the dept service ? This is some thing I really don't want to go down, some items I pay for are HP, laptops for college kids etc, they need them for eduction, I would sooner make a agreement directly.

If they did push for the order of possession, could I go back and fight my case again...?

I admit we where in the wrong for not keeping up the order, but after we have shown willing for 4-5 years paying back £5000 surely this means that we are committed to repay the arrears?

Any help would be great.

Hi there, how much did you agree to pay towards the arrears on top of the normal mortgage payment ?

Hi, we had been paying £100 over the required payment, this is what was stipulated by the Judge at the start.....This is what we offered again

1. keep off the phone.

2. you have been had by this person who visited you, it will have added more fees to yiur account and undoubtedly the new arrangement is not in your interests so dont be chasing it, get them to put whatever they propose in writing and dig out all of your accounts so you can challenge things that will undoubtedly prove to be incorrect.

Hopefully ell-enn will pick up on this thread, she has a lot of experiance with these things

Ok.....but if I don't set up an agreement, they will push for possession ?

Hi you need to write to them re-iterating your offer to pay what was agreed in court. Advise that nothing has changed regarding your income and expenditure and you will re-commence payments forthwith.

If you need help with the letter please let me know and I'll draft one for you.

Not paying other finance agreements would mean they would go into default or threats of court action on those accounts - your mortgage lender should not be advising you to get yourself into further debt problems.

If they were to push for possession again you can go back to court to defend and we can help you with that. It's important you get a letter off to them asap - send by recorded delivery (or special delivery if you can afford it).

Ok thanks , If you could draft me a letter that would be fanstatic !

Would be it be better to offer £200 above the basic mortgage payment, as I feel we can afford this, I dont want to rock the boat, just get back to an even keel.

After all the initial £100 over basic payment was rejected.....

Sorry if I sound condescending , Im just a little worried.

How long is left on the mortgage and how much are the total arrears at the moment ?

You need to make sure that whatever payment you offer is sustainable if you have an emergency - you have already found out that you had to miss payments due to unforeseen expense before Christmas - if you had to do that again you will be right back in the same position......

Theres 14 years left on it and £5071 arrears atm.

Hi If you pay £100 per month you will clear the arrears in 4.2 years. If you have to go back to court to defence repossession you could ask the judge to consider the Norgan case law which allows a judge to order that you pay the arrears over the remaining life of the mortgage - that would be around £30 per month ! So your lender would get less. £100 per month is quite enough.

I will affix a letter soon.

Many thanks

Just one last question - is the mortgage in joint names ?

Yes with the wife.

Draft letter affixed - are you OK with editing Word documents?

You need to add your address, lender's address and the mortgage account no - try and keep the whole letter on one page and both sign the bottom (remove the XXX's). Keep a copy of the letter for yourselves in case we need it for court.

If possible send tomorrow by special delivery (just over £5 I think), or at least recorded delivery - make sure you keep the postal receipt in a safe place so you can check on the royalmail website a few days after posting to print off the signature receipt - keep that safe with your copy of the letter in case needed.

Jay 9000 letter 11th January.doc

Again, many thanks , I will keep you informed of progress. This has made me feel a whole lot better and not so lost. You are a star Ell-enn.

You're welcome - just get that letter off to them asap... are you OK with opening and editing the letter ?

Yes all good, it will be on the way first thing in the morning

Howdy, back again...the letter has been sent recorded next day signed for, which is good......I have just noticed though that Mortgages PLC have text me to tell me to ring them, and I have a few missed calls from them, do I ring or answer, and say what if I do.

Thanks.

If you do answer - tell them that you have sent a letter to them (to be signed for) explaining your position and you do not want to be pressurised on the phone, ask them to respond to your letter in writing - then end the call.

Ok, thanks again

Just a quick update, after a very worrying week, was contacted by MPLC today, they have agreed the £100 above standard payment on a 3 month trial, and will not at this time be pressing the court for possession .....PHEW.....

Many thanks Ell-enn for all you help !!!

Thank you thank you thank you !!!

(Did I say Thanks? )

( a word to the little guy, it is worth trying when you think all is lost! )

That's great news, you must be very relieved. Make sure you stick to the arrangement without fail - best to make payments a few days early so there's no chance of them saying it was late. If you are late with a payment they will immediately start the process again and it would be very difficult to get them to agree to another payment arrangement which means you would have to go to court to defend.